When would it be sensible to adopt the euro in Bulgaria?

Bulgaria should enter to eurozone asap and with a currency board

It is extremely important for Bulgaria to keep its currency board by its entry in the Eurozone. This is a key factor for the stability of the country which is particularly important in the current situation. This is what Marco Annunziata – chief economist of UniCredit Group, said on a discussion of UniCredit Group, dedicated to the accession of the CEE countries to the Eurozone. The discussion, which was held within the Annual meeting of EBRD in London, was also attended by the UniCredit Group analyst Martin Blum and by the National Bank of Hungary Vice President Julia Kiraly.

“The sooner we enter the Eurozone, the better. We have been handling the negative effects of the fixed course for a long time and now we need to do our best to adopt the euro as soon as possible”, said also Levon Hampartzoumian, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of UniCredit Bulbank.

The participants in the business discussion agreed upon the opinion that the euroization (unilateral adoption of the euro) is not an acceptable opportunity for the CEE countries. “The unilateral adoption of the euro would not only be extremely difficult without the support of the European Central Bank, but it also means accumulation of external debt and a great dependence on external funding”, explained Blum.

It is a controversial point whether setting a concrete date for the adoption of the euro is right. The engagement with specific deadlines will prevent delay of the reforms needed for the accession to the eurozone. „Unfortunately, our experience shows that concrete dates setting is a good practice as long as they are kept. Yet Hungary has missed the two dates it has engaged with – in 2006 and 2010. We don’t want to set concrete deadlines for the adoption of the euro unless we are absolutely sure that can keep them”, said the National Bank of Hungary Vice President Julia Kiraly.

Contacts :

UniCredit Bulbank, Public Relations and Corporate communications

Victoria Blazheva, tel: 0894/ 570159, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva: tel: 0894/518 193, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch